WASHINGTON — Top Danish diplomats met with White House officials on Wednesday to talk about President Trump’s repeated threats to take control of Greenland and left with the understanding that the United States and Denmark have a “fundamental disagreement” about the future of the Arctic territory.

Lars Lokke Rasmussen, the Danish ...Read more

The U.S. Department of Justice has sued the state of Minnesota, accusing the state of giving discriminatory preference to marginalized state employees and prospective hires.

The suit, filed in U.S. District Court of Minnesota, takes aim at the state’s requirement to have affirmative action plans in place and consider diversity goals when ...Read more

LOS ANGELES — Tabby Refael's messages to Iran are going unanswered.

For weeks, she has called, texted and sent voice memos to loved ones in Tehran, where massive crowds have demanded the overthrow of the country's authoritarian government.

Are you OK? Refael — a West Los Angeles-based writer and Iranian refugee — has texted, over and ...Read more

NASA gave the go and the SpaceX Crew-11 mission departed the International Space Station on Wednesday, headed for an overnight splashdown back on Earth in the Pacific Ocean.

The four crew of NASA astronauts Zena Cardman, commander, and Mike Fincke, pilot, along with JAXA astronaut Kimiya Yui and Roscosmos cosmonaut Oleg Platonov, both mission ...Read more

LANSING, Mich. — The Michigan House on Wednesday approved legislation that would bar cellphone usage during instructional time in Michigan K-12 public schools, with some exceptions for medical conditions or emergencies.

The long-sought change to state law, which would apply to all Michigan public schools, also needs approval from the state ...Read more

Germany will take the lead of European nations sending military personnel to Greenland after Denmark said its meeting with top U.S. officials intent on controlling the world’s biggest island revealed that a “fundamental disagreement” remains.

The decision to dispatch reinforcements to the Arctic territory as early as this week highlights ...Read more

NEW YORK — As New York City opened enrollment for 3-K and pre-K on Wednesday, Mayor Mamdani took a swipe at Eric Adams for cutting funds and outreach efforts, accusing his predecessor of willfully keeping parents in the dark about the availability of free child care.

Adams faced criticism as mayor for not doing enough to grow 3-K enrollment ...Read more

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — At least 10,000 Floridians could lose access to life-saving HIV medication because Congress didn’t extend the Affordable Care Act tax credits last fall, according to Gov. Ron DeSantis’ administration.

The Florida Department of Health is justifying deep cuts to the AIDS Drug Assistance Program, which provides medication...Read more

NEW YORK — Mayor Zohran Mamdani is directing his city agencies to work toward cutting down fees and fines for small businesses.

Small businesses in New York are required to fork up cash for, among many other things, the ability to serve ice cream and install fridges.

The executive order, signed by Mamdani on Wednesday, calls on the Deputy ...Read more

In a major victory for Gov. Gavin Newsom and the Democratic party, a federal court ruled Wednesday that California can use its newly configured boundaries for congressional districts for the 2026 midterm elections, increasing Democrats’ odds of winning five additional U.S. House seats in the state next year and seizing control of the chamber. ...Read more

DENVER — Municipal utilities and electric cooperatives would have more time to cut their carbon emissions under legislation advanced by Colorado Springs-area lawmakers, who say the local electric utility will struggle to meet the 80% reduction target by the 2030 deadline.

The bipartisan bill announced Monday during a call with reporters would...Read more

ORLANDO, Fla. — SpaceX is starting to get the ball rolling on its Florida launch card with its fourth mission of the year coming less than two days since the last launch, setting a record for its Cape Canaveral launch pad.

A Falcon 9 on the Starlink 6-98 mission with 29 Starlink satellites lifted off at 1:08 p.m. from Cape Canaveral Space ...Read more

CHICAGO — After a defeat at the U.S. Supreme Court, lawyers for the Department of Justice told a federal judge Wednesday they’re looking to settle litigation over President Donald Trump’s controversial efforts to deploy National Guard troops to the Chicago area to bolster immigration enforcement.

The development came as U.S. District ...Read more

BOSTON — Gov. Maura Healey is slamming President Donald Trump’s threats to cut federal funding to sanctuary cities and states as ICE continues operations across the country amid a crackdown on illegal immigration.

“Well, I won’t give you the finger,” said Healey when asked by the Herald if she had any reaction to the president’s ...Read more

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled Wednesday that veteran downstate Republican Rep. Mike Bost has standing to pursue a federal lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of Illinois’ election law that allows mail-in ballots postmarked or certified by Election Day to be counted up to 14 days later.

The 7-2 ruling, in an opinion authored by Chief ...Read more

First, it was a series of strong atmospheric rivers in January 2023 that set off a troublesome landslide, again splitting up the world-famous drive along Big Sur's iconic coastline.

Then, a second winter of drenching storms triggered two more slides, including one that completely buried another section of California's Highway 1 under 300,000 ...Read more

Days after a federal judge blocked the Trump administration’s efforts to stop families of U.S. citizens and permanent residents from adjusting their legal status through a Biden-era program, the administration on Wednesday announced it would pause family-based green-card processing for 75 countries.

More than a dozen of the nations are in ...Read more

WASHINGTON — A panel of three federal judges in California declined to halt the state’s new congressional map Wednesday, rejecting claims the new lines were racial gerrymanders and allowing the map for this year’s midterm elections.

The 2-1 decision, written after the judges held a three-day evidentiary hearing, rejected claims that the ...Read more

At least three Americans have been released from detention in Venezuela, the latest in a slow-moving and contested process to free political prisoners following the nighttime raid earlier this month that captured strongman Nicolás Maduro.

U.S. officials confirmed that a small number of Americans were freed, though they did not provide ...Read more

COLUMBIA, S.C. — Former S.C. state Rep. RJ May III, once known for his hard-right conservative views, was sentenced Wednesday to 17.5 years in prison for distributing child pornography on the internet.

The sentence by U.S. District Judge Cameron McGowan Currie was announced at the end of a somber, unusually long two and a half hour hearing in...Read more